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Zeus
Zeus is the largest of the gas planets in the Aurora system, and the largest of all of the planetary bodies in the whole system. Zeus is a gigantic world, spanning over 100 times the diameter of Mobius and is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, much like other gas planets in the system. It is the innermost of the gas giants in the Aurora system, and the largest single planet in terms of mass and diameter. From Mobius, it appears as a bright red star in the sky. It is also the only planet confirmed to have active Pre-Historic Human activity in the Aurora System, though the general population has very little to no idea of the extent of this activity. In the current era, Zeus harbors a fueling station for intrasystem travel which was established by the UEG, though settlement of the Zeusian system is in its infancy, with nearly the whole population of the system being based in orbit. Planetary Description Unlike its counterpart in Home Universe, Zeus has a red tinge that is not present on the planet Jupiter. The atmosphere contains hydrocarbons that give it its crimson color. Zeus Is dominated by an amazing magnetic field that covers many of its moons. This also means that electromagnetic radiation from the star causes amazing aurorae to form at the poles of the planet. In terms of diameter, Zeus is larger than Jupiter, stretching from end to end, almost two hundred thousand kilometers. It is not known why exactly this is the case, but it is assumed that during formation of the Aurora system, more material from other parts of the system must have made its way to the far more massive planet. Zeus is estimated to have almost two and a half times the mass of Jupiter, meaning that it is within the lower realm of becoming a Class Y brown dwarf, though it is not known why the process of fusion never began. Storms are common across the surface of the planet, with numerous cloud bands stretching across the upper cloud layers. Where different storm bands meet, vortexes form, which commonly brings warmer layers up into the upper atmosphere. These storms take the form of spiraling 'eyes' that are dark red or brown in color, though white spots are not uncommon. In nearly all storm scenarios, mega lightning bolts are common, and are believed to stretch for thousands of kilometers with each strike. Currently, a massive storm, three times the size of Mobius is occurring in the Northern Hemisphere of Zeus, titled The Great Pale Spot due to massive ammonia clouds being brought up. Wind speeds are thought to achieve twice the speed of sound. This storm was first observed in 2350, when the Terra Nova expedition established permanent settlements and scientific observatories in the Apylacha region of Northamer. It is believed that water clouds exist, but at far deeper altitudes. Like all gas planets, Jupiter contains no solid surface, with gas becoming thicker and hotter the deeper one goes. Zeus harbors a rocky ring of planetary materials that stretches to three planetary radii from the Roche Limit of the planet - the location where large planetary bodies would be torn apart by tidal forces. It is believed that this is the result of a planetary body being destroyed by said gravitational forces, distributing the material across the new ring system. Due to the fact that these rings are relatively bright, it is possible that this ring is less than two million years old. Moon System The moon system itself has at least fifty confirmed bodies, many of which being under one thousand kilometers in diameter. However, there are a few of exception. The most notable is that of Europa, still named the same due to tradition. Attentive Terrans will note that the name is exactly the same, and will wonder why no doubt. The answer is complex and not quite clear, with ancient tribes noting the name insistently as Europa. Terra Novans also refused to change the name of the moons as well, which may have solidified into a trend, much the same how Phoebos and Deimos retained their names. The other large moon is Ganymede, measuring well over the size of the Terran moon Luna. It is a dense, volcano-covered globe that retains a thin atmosphere of carbon dioxide, sulfur, and carbon monoxide. Surface gravity is measured to be at .25G, meaning that surface conditions are tolerable to Mobians and other bipeds that evolved in 1G standard environments. Zeus' massive magnetic field protects moons like these. Ganymede's surface is relatively flat, with parts of the globe directly facing Zeus being distorted by gravitational forces, creating taller mountain ranges. The last moon of note is Io, which is far larger than its Terran counterpart, estimated to be half the size of Mobius, but with equal density. It is hypothesized that this version of Io may have collided with other moons in the past that increased the surface area of the moon and in addition to which, also increased the mass. Its orbit is nearly circular around Zeus because of its mass, and it also seems to exhibit some degree of rotation, believed to be from its ancient impact. It is believed that Io has a surface pull of about half of Mobius standard, though its atmosphere is far from hospitable being sulfur heavy, with other major gasses being hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen cyanide. Massive lava flows cover huge plains and valleys, creating seas of constantly replenishing molten material, with gasses flowing into the atmosphere. It is possible that Io is in the process of becoming a greenhouse world, where temperatures will soar even higher after a few hundred thousand years. Io is also unique in the fact that it possesses a small moon itself, only three hundred and forty kilometers in radius, a large asteroid named Hesiod that orbits fairly close to the body, likely a capture from the asteroid belt. There are no plans as of now to explore Io, as the atmosphere is rather poisonous and can affect electronic equipment without proper protection. Lastly is Callisto, a moon much like Europa, and in fact shares a similar diameter, though its surface is covered with a far denser sheet of ice. It is believed that there is a subsurface ocean beneath Callisto, though no proof as of 3239 for its existence. In the time of its discovery, no less than three administrations attempted to form such a mission, though funds could not be secured for such an endeavor. In the end, only a mission to generally survey the Zeusian system was conducted, and Callisto seemed to be left out of much of the equation. Only surface telescopes from Mobius can determine the general composition and surface features of the body: its surface is covered by numerous cracks much like Europa, unlike its Terran counterpart. However, its surface is covered in impact craters, many of which are fresh, only a few thousand years old. This is believed to be because of its outer orbital position, where it at times catches asteroids drawn in by Zeus' strong gravitational pull. Its color is believed to be light to dark grey depending on surface composition. Otherwise, there are no surface features of note that make the moon stand out. Despite it being a possible harbor of life, it is far more interesting to shift attention to Europa. The remaining moons are little more than large asteroids that clumped together in roughly spherical shapes. These are more or less similar to Terran counterparts, and many of them have high-inclination orbits, meaning that they do not appear on the same planes as the four largest Zeusian moons, making them hard to observe without strong telescopes. As of 3238, the Frontier Corps have discussed a mapping project, set to commence in 3241. Trivia * Zeus is named in the same fashion as Jupiter - Zeus is the Greek king of the gods who resides on Mount Olympus. Behind the Scenes * Zeus' image was easy to make; I took a NASA picture of Jupiter, inverted it, and keyed it to become far more red, while at the same time I made some of the cloud bands whiter to reflect higher ammonia content and to make the surface more consistent. Additionally, the inclusion of Europa and Io was done to make the picture more interesting and authentic looking. The original image has no shadows. List of Appearances * The Story of Mobius (First Appearance) * Journal of Sally Acorn Category:Planet Category:Locations Category:Gas Giant